History

Year by Year Results: 1982

Much was made at the time of the 1985 Browns winning the AFC Central title with just an 8-8 record.

But what many people probably don't remember is that the Browns' last playoff team before the one in 1985 did that club one better -- or in this case, one worse.

The 1982 Browns, despite finishing a game below .500 at 4-5, managed to get into the postseason. It marked the first -- and only -- time in Browns history that a team made the playoffs with a losing record.

That oddity seems to fit, for 1982 was definitely a one-of-a-kind season.

Seven of the scheduled 16 regular-season games were lost due to a players' strike that began three weeks into the year and lasted nearly two months. Because of that and the subsequent inability to balance out the schedule enough to make division races possible, the AFC and NFC dissolved division play and combined all of their respective teams into two large groupings. At the end of the season, the eight top teams in each conference qualified for what was called the Super Bowl Tournament.

The teams were seeded one through eight in each conference based on their record, and the Browns, by virtue of tie-breakers, edged out the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks, also both 4-5, for the No. 8 spot in the AFC.

Their reward for that was a place opposite the top-seeded Los Angeles Raiders (8-1) in a first-round playoff game. The Raiders, with former Browns Lyle Alzado and Greg Pruitt helping to lead the way, broke a 10-10 second quarter tie and scored 17 unanswered points to win 27-10 in the Coliseum and eliminate Cleveland from the postseason for the second straight time.

The Raiders, then based in Oakland, also held off the Browns 14-12 in the famous Red Right 88 game in the 1980 AFC divisional playoffs.

But that 1982 contest, because of the strangeness of the season, is almost a footnote to everything else that happened.

The 1982 Browns were kind of an in-between bunch -- the last vestige of the Kardiac Kids of 1980 before the club began to make the transformation to the Bernie Kosar years in the last half of the decade. Although quarterback Brian Sipe was still the kingpin of this era, he lost his starting job to third-year pro Paul McDonald late in the 1982 season after having thrown twice as many interceptions -- eight -- as touchdown passes (four).

To be sure, McDonald wasn't much better, with eight picks and five scoring throws, but Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano, in trying to find a spark for his struggling team, especially the sputtering offense, surprisingly -- and probably reluctantly as well, since he was a big Sipe fan -- started the Southern Cal product in a key late-season home game against Pittsburgh. McDonald was good enough to help engineer a 10-9 win -- the biggest of the year for club, thus cementing his place as the starter for the rest of the year.

Although Sipe would re-gain his job in the 1983 training camp, his last with the Browns before jumping to Donald Trump's New Jersey Generals of the USFL the following year, he was on the downside of his career, as were most of the rest of the Kardiac Kids.

After floundering in 1981 with a 5-11 record, the Browns came out in '82 trying to recapture the magic they had had in that memorable 1980 campaign, when they went 11-5 and claimed the AFC Central crown for the first time in nine years. They seemed to be on track to doing just that, finishing the 1982 preseason with a 4-0 mark before winning at Seattle 21-7 in the regular-season opener.

Even though they suffered a last-second 24-21 loss the next week to a Philadelphia Eagles club that had been to the Super Bowl just two years before, the Browns were still feeling very positive about themselves. But that was the last game before the strike.

That they did not play for two months, along with the fact their players were very active and involved during the strike, caused the Browns to lose their focus -- and that momentum. They returned to the field in November a shadow of their former selves, edging the so-so New England Patriots 10-7 the first time out and then losing three straight games -- to the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals - by a combined 84-37 score.

They never really recovered from that, although the win over the Steelers pumped some life back into the Browns temporarily and helped catapult them into the playoffs, where their stay was short-lived.

Steve King,Staff Writer

Year Results

Preseason Results

National Football League: 4-0

at Detroit Lions (54,275) 17-16

Los Angeles Rams (60,794) 26-23

at New Orleans Saints (55,689) 20-17

at Los Angeles Raiders (38,840) 27-10

Regular Season Results

Regular Season

Playoffs

Combined Record

League

W

L

T

PCT

W

L

T

PCT

W

L

T

PCT

NFL

4

5

0

.444

0

1

0

.000

4

6

0

.400

Postseason Results

Divisional Playoff Game

Date

Opponent

Result

Score

1/8

at Los Angeles Raiders

Loss

10-27

Date

Result

Opponent

Att.

9/12

W21-7

at Seattle Seahawks

55,907

9/19

L21-24

Philadelphia Eagles

78,830

11/21

W10-7

New England Patriots

51,281

11/25

L14-31

at Dallas Cowboys

46,267

12/5

L13-30

San Diego Chargers

54,064

12/12

L10-23

at Cincinnati Bengals

54,305

12/19

W10-9

Pittsburgh Steelers

67,139

12/26

W20-14

at Houston Oilers

36,559

1/2

L21-37

at Pittsburgh Steelers

52,312

Playoff

1/8

L10-27

at Los Angeles Raiders

56,555

Score By Periods

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

OT

Tot.

Browns

20

34

24

62

0

---

140

Opponents

28

60

38

56

0

---

182

Team Statistics

Browns

Opponent

Total First Downs

176

189

Rushing

64

82

Passing

96

94

Penalty

16

13

3rd Down: Made/Att

43/127

52/106

3rd Down Pct.

33.90%

49.10%

4th Down: Made/Att

5/6

3/8

4th Down Pct.

83.30%

37.50%

Total Net Yards

2,708

3,141

Avg. Per Game

300.9

349

Total Plays

616

594

Avg. Per Play

4.4

5.3

Net Yards Rushing

873

1,292

Avg. Per Game

97

143.6

Total Rushes

256

306

Net Yards Passing

1,845

1,822

Avg. Per Game

205

202.4

Sacked/Yards Lost

26/212

22/145

Gross Yards

2,057

1,967

Attempts/Completions

334/174

266/144

Completion Pct.

52.10%

54.10%

Had Intercepted

16

17

Punts/Avg.

48/39.3

40/38.8

Net Punting Avg.

48/34.8

40/35.5

Penalties/Yards Lost

59/461

57/436

Fumbles/Ball Lost

15/8

20/11

Touchdowns

17

23

Scoring

Ru

Pa

St

Df

PAT

2Ru

2Pa

FG

Saf

TP

Bahr, Matt

0

0

0

0

17/17

0

0

7/15

0

38

Feacher, Ricky

0

3

0

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

18

Newsome, Ozzie

0

3

0

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

18

Pruitt, Mike

3

0

0

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

18

White, Charles

3

0

0

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

18

Browns

7

9

0

1

17/17

0

0

7/16

0

140

Opponents

13

9

1

0

21/23

0

0

7/11

1

182

Rushing

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Pruitt, Mike

143

516

3.6

17

3

White, Charles

69

259

3.8

18t

3

Miller, Cleo

16

61

3.8

17

0

Sipe, Brian

13

44

3.4

12

0

McDonald, Paul

7

-3

-0.4

10

0

Browns

256

883

3.4

18t

7

Opponents

306

1,292

4.2

34

13

Receiving

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Newsome, Ozzie

49

633

12.9

54

3

White, Charles

34

283

8.3

36

0

Feacher, Ricky

28

408

14.6

46

3

Logan, Dave

23

346

15

56t

2

Pruitt, Mike

22

140

6.4

13

0

Browns

174

2,057

11.8

56t

9

Opponents

144

1,967

13.7

60

9

Interceptions

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Dixon, Hanford

4

22

5.5

22

0

Johnson, Lawrence

4

17

4.3

17

0

Scott, Clarence

3

29

9.7

24

0

Banks, Chip

1

14

14

14

0

Burrell, Clinton

1

14

14

14t

1

Browns

17

102

6

24

1

Opponents

16

164

10.3

37

0

Punting

No

Yds

Avg

In20

TB

LG

BLK

Cox, Steve

48

1,887

39.3

11

6

52

1

Browns

48

1,887

39.3

11

6

52

1

Opponents

40

1,552

38.8

9

2

54

0

Punt Returns

No

FC

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Walker, Dwight

19

6

101

5.3

14

0

Hall, Dino

4

0

33

8.3

10

0

Browns

23

6

134

5.8

14

0

Opponents

30

2

216

7.2

24

0

Kickoff Returns

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Hall, Dino

22

430

19.5

32

0

Walker, Dwight

13

295

22.7

36

0

Nicolas, Scott

2

16

8

10

0

Green, David

1

13

13

13

0

Browns

38

754

19.8

36

0

Opponents

23

424

18.4

30

0

Field Goals

1-19

20-29

30-39

40-49

50+

Tot

Bahr, Matt

1/1

3/4

1/3

2/7

0/0

7/15

Cox, Steve

0/0

0/0

0/0

0/0

0/1

0/1

Browns

1/1

3/4

1/3

2/7

0/1

7/16

Opponents

0/0

2/2

2/4

3/4

0/1

7/11

Passing

Att

Cmp

Yds

Pct

Av/At

TD

Td%

Int

Int%

LG

Tkld

Rating

Sipe, Brian

185

101

1,064

54.6

5.75

4

2.2

8

4.3

40t

13/117

60.7

McDonald, Paul

149

73

993

49

6.66

5

3.4

8

5.4

56t

13/95

59.5

Browns

334

174

2,057

52.1

6.16

9

2.7

16

4.8

56t

26/212

60.2

Opponents

266

144

1,967

54.1

7.39

9

3.4

17

6.4

60

22/145

62.7

java.lang.RuntimeException: Failed to get data //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:173)
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:139)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.property.DCRProperty.fetchDCRXML(DCRProperty.java:328)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.buildComponentTransformData(RuntimeComponent.java:247)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.transform(RuntimeComponent.java:281)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.renderNoCache(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:216)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.preRender(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:103)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenContainer.preRender(PageTokenContainer.java:260)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimePage.transform(RuntimePage.java:372)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreviewPage.getBaseTransform(PreviewPage.java:218)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreRenderedPage.transform(PreRenderedPage.java:145)
at com.interwoven.livesite.business.BusinessPageGenerator.generatePages(BusinessPageGenerator.java:410)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.PageConversionWebTask.convertPages(PageConversionWebTask.java:176)
at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor437.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractDispatchWebTask.handleExecution(AbstractDispatchWebTask.java:94)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractAjaxWebTask.execute(AbstractAjaxWebTask.java:72)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.action.CSWebTaskAction.execute(CSWebTaskAction.java:110)
at org.springframework.web.struts.DelegatingActionProxy.execute(DelegatingActionProxy.java:110)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processActionPerform(RequestProcessor.java:431)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.process(RequestProcessor.java:236)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1196)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:432)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:637)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:290)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.livesite.spring.hibernate.web.filter.OpenSessionsInViewFilter.doFilterInternal(OpenSessionsInViewFilter.java:108)
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:75)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:183)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:138)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.impl.auth.AuthenticationFilter.doFilter(AuthenticationFilter.java:203)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.util.SetRequestEncodingFilter.doFilter(SetRequestEncodingFilter.java:106)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:233)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:128)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109)
at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:286)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:845)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:583)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:447)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot read file: //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:153)
... 49 more

java.lang.RuntimeException: Failed to get data //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:173)
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:139)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.property.DCRProperty.fetchDCRXML(DCRProperty.java:328)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.buildComponentTransformData(RuntimeComponent.java:247)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.transform(RuntimeComponent.java:281)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.renderNoCache(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:216)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.preRender(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:103)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenContainer.preRender(PageTokenContainer.java:260)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimePage.transform(RuntimePage.java:372)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreviewPage.getBaseTransform(PreviewPage.java:218)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreRenderedPage.transform(PreRenderedPage.java:145)
at com.interwoven.livesite.business.BusinessPageGenerator.generatePages(BusinessPageGenerator.java:410)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.PageConversionWebTask.convertPages(PageConversionWebTask.java:176)
at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor437.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractDispatchWebTask.handleExecution(AbstractDispatchWebTask.java:94)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractAjaxWebTask.execute(AbstractAjaxWebTask.java:72)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.action.CSWebTaskAction.execute(CSWebTaskAction.java:110)
at org.springframework.web.struts.DelegatingActionProxy.execute(DelegatingActionProxy.java:110)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processActionPerform(RequestProcessor.java:431)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.process(RequestProcessor.java:236)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1196)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:432)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:637)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:290)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.livesite.spring.hibernate.web.filter.OpenSessionsInViewFilter.doFilterInternal(OpenSessionsInViewFilter.java:108)
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:75)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:183)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:138)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.impl.auth.AuthenticationFilter.doFilter(AuthenticationFilter.java:203)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.util.SetRequestEncodingFilter.doFilter(SetRequestEncodingFilter.java:106)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:233)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:128)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109)
at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:286)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:845)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:583)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:447)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot read file: //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:153)
... 49 more